The optimal age for introducing complementary foods is 4-6 months. There are studies confirming that early (before 4 months) introduction of complementary foods is associated with risks of delayed metabolic diseases. Later (after 6 months) is associated with the risk of a decrease in growth rates, since complementary foods not only provide the child’s diet with necessary nutrients, but also “nurture” the intestinal microbiota.
The delay in the introduction of complementary foods during breastfeeding (in 27.5%) provokes a delay in the formation of independent feeding skills. The early inclusion of “adult” foods in the diet is fraught with infatuation with “fashionable” diets, including elimination ones at a later age.
The introduction of juices into the diet of children under 6 months in half of the cases provokes an addiction to sweet foods, including juice drinks with sugar, chocolate milk, and liver.
Lack of proper control over the addition of sugar and salt to baby food products (their additional introduction into complementary foods) reaches 41% and 29%, respectively. Subsequently, an addiction to excessive salting and an unhealthy love of sweets develops.
Multicenter studies of the effects of consumption of adult snacks by children 3–5 years of age showed a connection with similar eating behavior of parents, and the contribution of snacks to the total energy value of food ranged from 13 to 38%, but their role in the problem of childhood obesity needs further study.
Source: journal “Pediatric Pharmacology”